The 108th U.S. Open was just too good for only four days and 72 holes.

Tiger Woods grinding out shots on an ever-more-painful knee.

Rocco Mediate seeming to enjoy every minute of maybe one last appearance on the grandest of stages.

Torrey Pines looking more beautiful than ever on a gorgeous June Sunday.

It was just too good.

"As Ernie Banks used to say, 'It's a beautiful day. Let's play two,'" Jay Rains, the man who led the effort to bring the Open to Torrey Pines, said behind the 18th green late yesterday afternoon.

Just seconds before, Woods had gone charging past Rains into the tunnel under the grandstand to sign the card that represents another amazing chapter in his tale.

Battling the pain in his left knee and the swing trouble it caused, Woods looked more human, more vulnerable than ever for most of the final round. It seemed as if, for the first time, he would squander a lead in a major.

He needed birdie on the 72nd hole but drove into the left fairway bunker on the par-5 finishing hole and botched the layup by putting it in the right rough.

Then Woods did what he does better than everyone else: He turned a loser's par into a magical birdie.

Woods squeezed his wedge approach between the front right flag and the bunker and rolled in a 12-foot putt that for the second straight day produced bedlam in the grandstands.

The birdie gave Woods, who opened the day with a double bogey, a final-round score of 2-over-par 73 and propelled him into an 18-hole playoff at 9 a.m. Monday with Mediate, who shot 71 and narrowly missed a birdie chance at 18 that would have made him the oldest U.S. Open champion.

They tied at 1-under 283, the first players to finish under par in the Open since Retief Goosen at Shinnecock Hills in 2004.

England's Lee Westwood, who shot 73 playing with Woods, missed out on the playoff when his 15-foot birdie putt dived inches away from the cup. He finished solo third.

"It's going to be a blast, guys," Mediate said of his first playoff in a major. "We'll give you a show, for sure.

"I'm playing against a monster tomorrow. I got to get excited to play. I get to play against the best player that ever played. I'm happy I'm here and I'll give it everything."

As Mediate was wrapping up his news conference, Woods appeared in the sunlit doorway of the media center.

"Who knew I'd be playing against him tomorrow," Mediate said, smiling and pointing his finger. "And you better watch yourself tomorrow, pal.

Woods cracked maybe his second smile all day -- the first coming after he celebrated wildly on 18 by squatting to flex both arms and growl with flashing teeth at the crowd.

"I'm looking forward to it," Woods said. "I've never been in this position before in a U.S. Open. After I got off to this start today, it looked like I could play myself out of the tournament. But I still have a chance."